This invention relates to lapidary saws. It pertains in particular to a saw blade guide and slab support for preventing wobble of the blade on lapidary saws.
In the working of rock specimens, particularly the more or less spherical ones such as geodes, it is often desirable to cut from the specimens a thin slab having parallel sides. Lapidary saws and associated saw blades have been developed for cutting such slabs.
Generally, a lapidary saw comprises a rotary, arbor-mounted saw blade, much like a woodworking table saw. Sliding clamp means maintains the orientation of the specimen during the cutting.
Due to the large diameter of the saw blade, which is unsupported at its periphery, blade wobble or localized, lateral blade displacement occurs in most arbor-mounted rotary saws. Blade wobble becomes a particular problem in lapidary saws, however, due to the nature and use of the object being cut. It causes unevenness of surface in the cut slabs. Since the slabs are further polished after cutting, any unevenness or irregularities are magnified and extremely noticeable.
It accordingly is the general object of the present invention to provide a saw blade guide for overcoming this problem and to prevent saw blade wobble in lapidary saws.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a blade guide that is easily mounted on existing lapidary saws of various manufacture.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a blade guide which makes possible true, straight cutting of rocks of random and awkward sizes and shapes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a blade guide having wear surfaces which are readily replaceable upon rotation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a blade guide that is adaptable for use with lapidary saws having two saw blades mounted in a parallel tandem fashion to facilitate cutting of an intermediate slab therebetween.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a blade guide having an integral slab support for holding the intermediate slab during and after cutting.